Southern California -- this just in

Sky’s the Limit

Welcome to a new feature called Sky’s the Limit, in which The Times' David Zahniser will periodically point out those extra-big development projects getting the green light in and around L.A.

The L.A. City Council approved plans today for a 16-story residential tower in Hollywood, following weeks of warnings that construction work on the project would disrupt recordings at the landmark Capitol Records building next door.

Councilman Eric Garcetti, who represents a portion of Hollywood, said the city had added new measures that would safeguard work at the building’s underground recording studios, which will be located less than 20 feet from the new project’s six-level, 242-space subterranean garage.

The project will establish a fund to compensate EMI, the parent company of Capitol Records, if recording is disrupted, Garcetti said.

Second Street Ventures, which is developing the project, has also agreed to adopt construction techniques that minimize noise at Capitol Records’ underground studios, according to the plan.

“We all learned a lot more about vibrations than we ever knew before this started,” Garcetti said.